


Euphoria

by wellthengetouttathesoupaisle



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: And angsty, Gen, Kevin does too, Short, Sweet, andrew has a bit more emotion than his meds find acceptable, basically Andrew suffers, everyone is sad, foxes and ravens, i hope u guys cry, lots of angst because i feed off that stuff, thats about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-02 22:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8686312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellthengetouttathesoupaisle/pseuds/wellthengetouttathesoupaisle
Summary: Kevin breaks his promise, so Andrew breaks his too.





	

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for the fandom and it's angst :)  
> Don't be too hard on me.

The anger lasts for only an hour before the medication tears it away with its steely fingers, trapping him once again in a euphoric high. He's laughing when Neil finds him on the roof, a bitter, sardonic laugh at yet another broken promise.

"No one keeps them anymore," he smilingly informs Neil, who stares at him with hurt bewilderment. The look isn't because of Andrew, though. "Their promises, I mean. What a stupid concept. Who came up with them, I wonder?"

Neil sits down a few feet away from him, a despondent look on his sharp features. He swings his feet over the edge and seems to contemplate the concrete below. "I just don't understand why he would..."

Andrew snorts. It's a remorseless sound, filled with mirth. “I don’t know why you’re surprised. Betrayal never comes from an enemy.”

Neil's eyes find his before flickering away. His mouth is pulled downward at the corners, mirroring the tumultuous emotions within him. "Was it betrayal, though?"

Andrew scoffs, standing up. "Don't be an idiot." He brushes off his pants, tosses his unsmoked cigarette aside, and disappears back into the dorm.

He doesn't speak to anyone for a long time.

\---

  
He sees Kevin a week later—on a TV interview, cheeks hollow and smile faker than any he's seen before. Riko sits to his left, a possessive hand clamped on his shoulder, while a weary Jean makes sure to keep a few inches away from his right.

"We're happy you're back, of course," the blonde interviewer says chirpily, white smile resembling a slavering beast. "But tell us, Kevin, what prompted you to switch back to the Ravens and take up a coaching position when you seemed so dead set on playing with the Foxes?"

Andrew's fists clench at his sides while the rest of the Foxes sit in a tense circle in the lounge, eyes transfixed to the TV. Even Wymack is frozen, an unreadable expression on his dark face.

Kevin nods in what's meant to be a charming manner. He's lost weight. If Andrew looks closely, he can see the shadows of bruises on his high cheekbones, cleverly concealed by makeup. "Of course people would be interested in that." He licks his lips, a nervous twitch Andrew has seen over and over.

Riko slants him a look out of the corner of his eyes, the genial smile never leaving the curve of his lips. It's clearly been rehearsed. If Kevin deviates from the script—well, Andrew can already see the consequences. His teeth bare in a malicious grin as he waits for the garbage that's about to spew from Kevin's treasonous mouth.

"I've spoken very highly of the Foxes' potential, and was looking forward to playing with them this season. I didn't want to stop playing Exy, no matter the cost. I see now that it was a mistake."

Jean seems to sink into himself as the interviewer leans forward eagerly, an expression of pure rapture overtaking her face. "And why do you say that?"

Kevin swallows before continuing. "It became clear to me when I played my first game with them that I was nowhere near my original skill. It would take too long to boost my ability to an acceptable level, which would cut away from my chances of going pro."

Riko is nodding along, an understanding expression on his angled features. All Andrew sees is condescension. There's a foreign feeling in his gut that he can't identify; something between boiling blood and empty hollowness.

Kevin's hands are shaking now. Riko adjusts his legs to block them from the camera. "I didn't want to be away from my old teammates anymore. They'd known what was best for me all along. I should've listened to them and taken up coaching the Ravens right away."

The words are lies. All lies. Andrew laughs loudly and the room turns to look at him, startled. Only Neil's eyes remain glued to the TV, his face an ashen gray.

"I've returned to Edgar Allen to utilize my abilities the way they should have been utilized from the start. Training champions."

The room stiffens, and Andrew can almost hear the collective intake of breath at Kevin's stinging words. They're not his own, obviously, but it hurts the Foxes to hear them nonetheless.

"Ah, amazing as usual, Kevin," the interviewer gushes. "We're all so happy to see you finally reunited with Riko. I'm sure it's been hard on you, being away for so long."

The audience are fools if they can't see the anxiety coursing through Kevin's veins. He instinctively snatches at his left hand, and Riko's fingers tighten on his shoulder. He says lightly, "We're all glad he's back. Kevin too."

Kevin is clearly expected to reaffirm that. His lips are bloodless as they form words. "I am."

The TV screen powers off. "What—" Matt starts, and then they see the remote in Andrew's grasp.

"A traitor," Andrew sings. "Poisons minds with his treasonous words. Let's all do each other a favor and forget about him, hm?" There's something pounding in his chest and he'd rather it not be there. A forceful smirk works its way onto his face.

The Foxes stare at him and then at the blank screen before Dan says, chokingly, "Why did he leave?"

Andrew deigns not to answer. He is only slightly surprised when she screams at him. "I know you know the real reason! Why did he take off without saying a word?! Why did we only find out he had returned to the Moriyamas when the media came out with the story?! _Tell_ me!"

Andrew knows. He knows because he was there when Kevin received the call, had ordered him to put it on speaker so he could hear the message as well. He learned that Kevin only possessed a backbone when it came to disobeying him in favor of the Moriyamas, even though Kevin had promised him, tremblingly, that he would not leave; that he trusted Andrew, believed him when he said he would protect him.

And then Kevin had fled. Not a note, not a word to anyone at all. Andrew did not speak of it to anyone, letting them discover it alone.

So yes, he knows. He also no longer cares.

"Irrelevant," Andrew tells her, his smile gracing only his lips. His eyes are hard as stone. "Completely irrelevant. He's a treasonous traitor, a traitorous treason. I quite like the ring of that."

And then he leaves, because he will most certainly reach for his knives if another person speaks.

\---

  
The next time he sees Kevin, it's during the match between the Foxes and the Ravens. They know they will lose; they stand less of a chance now that Kevin has abandoned them.

Andrew passes by him each time he completes a warm up lap around the court. He does not look at Kevin. Kevin does not dare to look at him.

Neil tries to speak to him only once. Kevin ignores him, his face dark with fear as he glances at Riko in hopes that he did not see the exchange. Andrew pulls Neil close to him to whisper harshly in his ear, "Treasonous traitor, remember?" and laughs when Neil's mouth tightens into a thin line.

He's sober tonight, so he imagines that each ball he deflects from the goal is aimed at Kevin's head.

The ones that make it into the net leave him short of breath from the nothingness in his chest.

\---

  
The next time he sees Kevin, he's dressed formally in a black and white suit.

It's not only him, actually, that sees the failure that Kevin Day has become. The whole world watches and mourns their fallen champion, now a lifeless corpse in a casket.

Suicide, the Ravens say. Depression over the loss of his Exy career. Coaching was simply not enough for him.

For once, Andrew believes them.

Then he reminds himself that he does not care. He pops open his pill canister and swallows his medication dry.

It only takes an hour for the aching to recede and the euphoric high to swallow him again.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry. (I'm not)


End file.
